Blog Posts by Joanna Douglas, Senior Fashion and Beauty Editor

Rodarte for Target ribcage dressI've loved many of the designer collaborations for Target, H&M and other low-end retail stores. How awesome is it to buy designer labels for affordable prices? But the more trendy and popular these diffusion lines become, the less likely you are to get your hands on the goods for cheap.

Yesterday the Rodarte collection went on sale at Target stores nationwide and on Target.com. I logged on to their website around noon, hoping to score this sequin ribcage dress ($49.99) and one of the lace cardigans ($29.99), but both were already sold out. In fact, nearly every single one of the 55-piece collection was out of stock. Darn, already? Buying into the hype, I logged on to my eBay account to see if any pieces had made their way to auction. Yup! 284 Rodarte for Target items were listed. I added the ribcage dress in a size medium to my "watching" list on eBay, but it ended up selling for $251.50. There's another dress listed with less than an hour to go, and it's already over $100.

Perhaps

Read More »from $50 Rodarte for Target dress sells for $250 on eBay. Sigh.

Media WalesMiley Cyrus may enjoy getting bronzed from a bed, but if she lived in the UK, she wouldn't be able to. The BBC reports that British Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron, announced that the government is looking to ban those under 18 from using tanning beds. She is supporting a bill that demands a ban for minors as well as increased supervision over adult use of tanning machines. "Cancer Research UK's recent report, commissioned by the government, showed worrying levels of sunbed use by under 18s and confirmed that voluntary action by the industry is not enough to protect young people," says Merron. The study found that 250,000 11-to-17-year-olds in England use the beds.

Last week, a tanning salon owner was sentenced to community service after disobeying health and safety codes when an unsupervised 14-year-old received 70% burns. Scotland added a new law that bans underage kids from tanning beds this month. Skin cancer rates have more than quadrupled in the last 30 years, largely due

Read More »from How young is too young? UK bans tanning beds for minors, Italy bans implants

Beyond the successes, the comebacks, the transformations, and the untimely deaths, this year was plagued with scandals and conflicts. Between extortion, cheating, abuse, theft, and overall bad behavior, these famous figures have earned their position in the 2009 Hall of Scorn.

Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe famously said "diamonds are a girl's best friend," but maybe she should have said shoes. In a new study, over 92% of women could remember the first pair of shoes they bought with their own money, but more than one in three women polled could not recall their first kiss. Seriously?! We thought a first kiss was supposed to be a monumental occasion! Over 1,000 women were questioned for a survey on tszuji.co.uk about their relationship with footwear in contrast to their romantic history, and the results were really surprising. While 96% of these ladies regretted throwing away a pair of shoes, only 15% of them felt badly about dumping a boyfriend. Ouch!

Experts say these findings may be a result of women purchasing shoes for special, memorable occasions like weddings or birthdays, but wouldn't you think they'd recall or care more about their romantic memories than which heels were on their feet at the time? The website director Glendon Lloyd said, "These results show that

Read More »from Shoes are a girl’s best friend: More women remember first pair than first kiss

Mario Testino/VogueRachel McAdams, who stars in the upcoming "Sherlock Holmes," is one of today's most beautiful, talented and sought after young actresses. While she won our attention and applause in "The Notebook," "Wedding Crashers," "The Family Stone," and "Mean Girls," we never really knew much about her. After reading her new interview in Vogue, we discovered that she's from Canada, shares a home in Toronto with her brother, and enjoys writing in her diary before bed. But digging deeper, we found out some very surprising facts about McAdams that have only left us wanting more.

She's not into fashion
McAdams says she'd rather spend her hard-earned cash on food or travel than shopping for clothes, and her eye for designer duds is admittedly lacking. She was gifted with the now highly coveted Proenza Schouler tie-dye tee before it was even seen on the runway, but she wore it to sleep.

She has enrolled in a knife-skills class
But not for self-defense-for cooking! McAdams is a foodie, cooking

Read More »from 5 things you don’t know about Rachel McAdams

With less than 10 days till Christmas, we wanted to make things easy on you and your wallets with a gift guide of fun, fancy, and fabulous presents all for under $50. We even found some great items on sale! Sometimes it's more enjoyable to give than receive. Happy shopping!

The Snuggie trend really got out of hand, but as much as we may mock them, they do provide warmth in the winter and are kind of fun to bust out. Now there's a new product called Necky trying to cash in on the trend. Necky is a wrap-around fleece scarf that basically does for your neck what the Snuggie does for your body. Under a coat it looks like you're wearing a fleece turtleneck, but it's actually a velcro neck wrap with a bib attached so no air can get in. They look kind of silly, but we bet they're warm, and the fact that they fold into a little pouch you can tuck in your pocket has kind of sold us on them. Hey, when it's freezing out, we're willing to trade style for warmth. Plus you can get two for $9.95 on buynecky.com.

Will you be gifting a Necky this season?

Read More »from Look out Snuggie... here comes Necky!

BravoThis weekend I caught up on one of my biggest TV guilty pleasures, "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and got a little more than I bargained for. Watching reality shows such as this one, it's hard not to shout out at the "actors" as they do and say things that go against your own personal beliefs or tastes. They're living an extreme lifestyle, and though everyone is entitled to live their own lives, as a TV viewer, it's hard not to judge them. Especially when you see a woman take her daughter in for a dual trip to the plastic surgeon. Yes, you read that right. Lynne brought her daughter Raquel to her doctor for a little mother/daughter face work. Raquel wanted a nose job for her birthday, saying she thought it was too big and that she hated the bump. Lynne is never one to shy away from a little nipping and tucking, so she went to the office with her to have her face, chin and brows lifted.

Plastic surgery is a very personal decision. If a woman wants a little botox or a nose job

Read More »from Mother-daughter surgery on "The Real Housewives of Orange County"